N. Catasauqua Man's Death Ruled Homicide

An autopsy yesterday indicated homicide in the death of a 25-year-old North Catasauqua man found Friday along the west bank of the Lehigh River in Whitehall Township.

The victim, Kevin B. Young, of 1051 Howertown Road, was found at 7:20 p.m. Friday by an unidentified couple walking near the Lehigh River, township police said.

An autopsy performed yesterday at the Lehigh Valley Hospital Center indicated Young died from "cranial cerebral injuries, with or without drowning," said Joseph Rycek, a deputy Lehigh County coroner.

The victim was found face down along the riverbank about 100 yards east of Kimmett and Catasauqua avenues in the Laurel Hill section of the township.

Rycek said the autopsy indicated the head injuries resulted from a homicide. Young had been dead more than 12 hours when his body was discovered.

Whitehall police said they found indications that the victim had previously been in the area of the railroad tracks, west of the Lehigh River.

Police gave no motive for the slaying, but they said some of Young's personal effects may be missing.

His foster brother, Jerome Bixler, 45, of Slatington and his foster sister, Audrey Heil, 48, of North Catasauqua, described him as a quiet man who kept to himself.

The Bixler family had adopted Young when he was 7, they said.

"He was a loner," said Heil. "He was kind of slow. He repeated and repeated everything that he said."

She said that "he really didn't have too many friends."

"He was quiet and he was a good worker," said Bixler, the foster brother. "There was no involvement with drugs, as far as I know. He was a pretty straight and level (headed) kid."

Neither Bixler nor Heil knew what Young might have been doing by the river. He did not fish, as far as they knew.

"He was a kind that just liked to listen to the radio or the (police) scanner or watch a little television," said Heil.

She saw him earlier this year when Young came to the Heil home to have her husband, Latta, complete Young's income tax forms.

The area where Young was found was once used by underage drinkers, said longtime Laurel Hill resident Edward W. Tognoli, 76, of 30 Kimmett Ave. Tognoli said the area has been quiet the past few years. Tognoli said he noticed nothing unusual at the site Friday night.

"It's been quiet for a while now," Tognoli said.

"He was a very neat person and a very clean person," said Heil of Young. "He was very particular about his stuff. Even the police said how neat his apartment was."

Heil said robbery might be a motive in her foster brother's death. "He just got paid Thursday," she said. "The wallet is missing and he did just get paid. I really don't know."

A manager at Ludwig & Luigi's, 1410 Grape Street, where Young worked, confirmed that Young was paid Thursday.

The manager, who declined to identify himself, said Young, a dishwasher, was scheduled to work Friday but never appeared.

"He was an excellent worker, extremely reliable," said the manager, who said he identified Young's body Friday along the riverbank. "It is a shock to everybody here."

Police are requesting that anyone who might have seen Young Thursday afternoon or evening contact township investigators at 437-2022.